Oracle
by MaidenInTheMoon
Summary: A long shinobi war is on the horizon, A single oracle foretells that this war can be stopped by the union of the Kyuubi and the genius ninja of Konoha. In real life, that would be Naruto and Sasuke. Is the shinobi world doomed? ~*SasuNaru Yaoi*~
1. Garnet Visions

Hey guys! I've got like what, three chappies of ToYL up, and now I'm starting something new -_-() rest assured though, IT'S FRIGGIN SUMMER! So I can update as long as I don't fall into the trap called writer's block, anyways, yah k, enjoy!  
  
Title: Oracle  
  
Author: MaidenoftheMoon  
  
Summary: It has been predicted that a long and bloody shinobi war is on the horizon, A single oracle foretells that this war can be prevented by the union of the reincarnation of the Kyuubi and the genius ninja of Konoha. In real life, that would be Naruto and Sasuke, but the two can barely stay in the same room together, much less fall in love, is the shinobi world doomed?  
  
" . . ." = talking  
  
//. . .// = thinking  
  
Disclaimer: You know those lottery signs. "A dollar for you dreams."? Well, my dream would be to own Naruto. HAHAHA! Alas, I don't, and to be frank, I don't think Masashi Kishimoto does either, I mean, with all those legal matters nowadays. . .  
  
NTI: Just shut up and let them read  
  
Maiden: Okay, oh and if you have "A feeling of disgust swelling in your abdomen like a pool of boiling anger" because this is yaoi, then 1) GET OUT OF HERE NOW and 2) Go see a doctor, sounds like you've got the ulcer.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Chapter One: Garnet  
  
* * * * * *  
  
He stood on his balcony, staring intently at the dark horizon. Lighting briefly lit up the dark night sky, and the boy's face for a single moment, then vanished as quickly as it had come.  
  
The boy closed his eyes, he gripped the cold, steel railing and counted.  
  
One . . Two . . Three. Just as expected, the thunder came, following the lightning like a faithful dog at the heels of its master.  
  
It hadn't always been like this; he was never a prisoner of so many sleepless nights. He glanced briefly at the clock that hung in his living room. One-Thirty A.M.  
  
Uzumaki Naruto never used to be an insomniac. He was always the first to sleep and the very last to wake, but ever since the visions came, they haunted him constantly and in the end, the idea of falling into a dreamless sleep was nothing but a distant, unreachable pleasure.  
  
He tapped gently on his glass of water, and watched the ice cubes float in it like small boats, he liked the clinking sound it made when he shook the glass.  
  
Inhaling, he was able to smell the apprehension of a world waiting for the rain.  
  
Slowly closing his eyes, he felt the first, gentle drop of rain land on his cheek.  
  
It wasn't long before the downpour came, soaking him to the skin, but he didn't care. The boy just stood on his balcony and cried silently, his tears blending perfectly into the rain.  
  
~*flashback*~  
  
Naruto sat up in his bed, his light blue pajamas and his golden blond hair clinging to his sweat soaked body and forehead. A wave of nausea washed over him. He leaned over the side of his bed until his face was only inches from the ground and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach onto the floor.  
  
The boy sat in the darkness, his face buried in his hands, silently sobbing. His salty tears ran down his face gingerly, almost afraid to fall.  
  
It was that dream again, the same vision. Everyone he ever cared for lay scattered in a circle around him. Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Iruka, Jiraiya, Tsunade, all dead and bloody, eyes looking up at the red sky, empty, soulless.  
  
Naruto would cry as he fell to the ground, pounding the blood-stained dirt beneath him. That's when the invisible voice spoke.  
  
"You are destined to die with them."  
  
"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, refusing to look for the owner of the voice.  
  
"You couldn't save them, you couldn't save him, he was your everything."  
  
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"  
  
"You know who, but you let him die, you let him die. . . " The voice taunted on.  
  
At that point, a horrible pain would encompass his entire body, causing him to cry out in agony, but his cries were heard by only his dark room as he would awaken, sweaty and nauseated.  
  
~*End Flashback*~  
  
He slid down against the cold stone wall, icy rain still stinging against his skin.  
  
//I can't take it anymore . . .// Naruto thought bitterly, wrapping his wet arms around himself as if they could offer him some comfort.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
In another part of the city, a different leaf Genin was also pulled from his sleep by his dreams. He too woke up trembling and clutching his sweat- soaked sheets.  
  
It always took awhile for the world to stop spinning in front of his eyes, and when it did, he saw nothing but darkness.  
  
Flicking on the lights, he crawled into a silent kitchen and slumped into a chair at the table. He closed his eyes and listened to the rain pound hard on his roof.  
  
A memory of the days when he was still naïve and small came to him. He was in this very same kitchen and his mother held him in her arms.  
  
~*flashback*~  
  
"Okasan?" A small, timid voice asked.  
  
"Nani?" replied the soft, delicate voice of his mother.  
  
"The rain scares me a lot, I don't like it." He said quietly and moved closer to her.  
  
"Hush Sasuke, it's only a little water falling from the sky, plus, Itachi wouldn't be scared of it would he?" She said smiling.  
  
"No! I'm not scared either! I'm just as strong as Itachi!." The young Sasuke jumped out of her lap and stood bravely in the middle of the floor.  
  
His mother laughed quietly and led her son to the door. "You'll be late for shuriken practice!" she said while waving goodbye.  
  
Sasuke ran off deep in thought about how one day he'd be as great as his brother. Little did he know, that would be the last time he heard his mother's soothing voice.  
  
~*End flashback*~  
  
A loud clap of thunder pulled him from his thoughts. The raven-haired boy sat up and chuckled darkly. He had been so stupid. His eyes were clouded by innocence.  
  
If he had realized the way his brother was acting before, the way his parents seemed to shake when Itachi was in the room, he would have taken them as signs.  
  
Childhood hurt so badly. Every day was like a dream, and you only woke up to a terrifying nightmare.  
  
His eyes focused on the clock ticking away on the wall opposite him. For a few moments, he chose to think about nothing, but deep down, he knew it was inevitable. He was going to end up racking his brains for answers on his reoccurring dreams.  
  
The same thing every night, it had gotten to the point where he was almost afraid to turn the lights off, because the thought of falling asleep terrified him.  
  
When he finally did sleep, tender minutes of dreamless placidity soon receded into the nightmares.  
  
He was always in the same person's arms, being held close to their body, but that person was crying.  
  
Looking around, he realized he was lying in a pool of warm blood, and the pain shooting through him somehow told him that it was his own blood.  
  
"Sasuke, if I'd told you earlier, Sasuke, it's too late now, it's no use, Sasuke! Don't die! Please don't die!"  
  
He wanted to smack whoever was speaking to him, but he couldn't bring himself to move and he'd always black out, only to wake up hot, drenched in his own sweat and unexplainably lonely, almost yearning to be loved.  
  
Sasuke lay his head down on the cold, wood table and closed his eyes. What did it all mean?  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The two young ninjas were not the only people awake and troubled that night.  
  
"The oracle has spoken, the future of the shinobi relies on the union of the Kyuubi and the genius ninja of our village." The Godaime spoke softly as she stood in front of a crowd of hundreds of ninja.  
  
A hushed murmur floated through the audience, and dark glances were exchanged by many.  
  
A sleepy looking silver-haired man stepped forward. "You don't mean Sasuke and Naruto do you?" He asked, with a tinge of fear in his voice.  
  
His comrades all looked alarmed, the tone he used was one that they very rarely heard.  
  
Tsunade smiled wearily, she was obviously tired from contacting the oracle. "That's exactly who I mean, we'll all die if your two students don't fall in love, Kakashi . . ."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
NTI: . . .  
  
Maiden: -___-() yess. . . .  
  
NTI: Plz review!! All ya need to do is click the pretty, purple button, that's right! You can hear it's voice calling you "Review. . .Review. . . ."  
  
Maiden: right, yah . . .  
  
Ja! ^_^(\/)  
  
P.S. I'm going to say it loud and clear, THIS FIC WILL BE YAOI! So if you don't like yaoi, plz just leave me alone!!!!  
  
Review! ::gives puppy dog eyes:: 


	2. Amethyst Love

Maiden: ^_^ back already! I don't have much to say today, so y'all can go ahead and read  
  
NTI: Thank God  
  
Maiden: XP Kelly Clarkson looks really bad in the "Miss Independent" Video  
  
NTI: *Slams potato sack over Maiden's head* BAKA! This is ffn.net! Don't talk about pop music!!  
  
Maiden: *_* SHOOT! FFN.NET WON'T LEMME READ MY REVIEWS! ;__;  
  
NTI: If you can suffer through the first 5 pages, there's a lil fluffines at the end ^_^ (or just skip till you see ~*Naruto POV*~ if you're here for the fluff! XD  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Chapter Two: Amethyst  
  
Disclaimer: I own Naruto (today is opposite day ^_^)  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
"Ohayo Sakura-Chan!" Naruto greeted the next morning as he raced towards the bridge where the trio met each day. All signs of his night time troubles were well hidden from his long-time crush.  
  
Naruto glanced at his watch. It was early; Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be there for at least another two hours.  
  
The pink-haired girl nodded her reply, lacking her usual fiery, degrading response.  
  
The quieter, darker one-third of the group stood in the shadow of a tree, saying nothing, but in his mind, he had already begun to analyze his teammate.  
  
//Funny, Naruto seems to be developing bags under his eyes, since when did that happen?// he thought to himself.  
  
Naruto gave Sasuke the normal 'I hate you' glance, but the two did not exchange words. Instead, they stood with their eyes on each other, mental electricity had already begun to build.  
  
Sakura noted the sudden stillness in the air; the leaves that had previously been dancing around her feet came to a standstill and the stream beneath them made no sound as it cascaded across the rocks.  
  
"Eh . . you guys . ." She intervened timidly.  
  
The two boys looked away from each other and the girl sighed with relief.  
  
//It gets worse and worse every day . . and it feels like it's more than a rivalry now . . it's almost like it's pure hate . . // she thought to herself sadly. //I can't do anything about it, they're both so much more powerful than me . . . //  
  
A crack followed by a puff of smoke brought all three's attention to the foot of the bridge.  
  
Just as they'd expected, their jounin sensei stood there, as he did every day - - - but a few things were different.  
  
"Oi Oi! Kakashi-sensei, you're on time today!" Naruto yelled eagerly as he waved to his teacher.  
  
Sakura nodded in agreement. "This is certainly new, has something important come up?"  
  
Kakashi smiled wearily, for the first time in as long as the three teens had known him, he looked genuinely tired.  
  
"Ne? Kakashi-sensei? Daijoubu ka*?" Sakura asked concerned, as the sharper of the group, she took note of the difference quickly.  
  
Naruto scratched his head. "Nani? Sakura-chan?" He looked from his teammate to his teacher, but noticed no difference.  
  
"It's nothing Naruto, don't worry." The silver-haired man smiled, as the three could tell from his eyes, for they could not see under his mask.  
  
Sakura nodded reluctantly, Sasuke said nothing, and Naruto returned to his bubbly self.  
  
"I want to shine today!" Naruto yelled eagerly as the four walked towards the training ground slowly.  
  
The sunshiny boy was the only one who didn't notice the dark cloud that loomed over his companions.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The day went slowly, they trained as usual, all three pushed on by their desire to become stronger.  
  
When the orange glow had faded from the sky, three tired bodies lay on the ground panting.  
  
Their teacher sat comfortably in a tree, watching them.  
  
"You guys can leave now, nice work today." He said dully and waited for response.  
  
Sasuke sat up first; he pushed himself painfully into a standing position and left wordlessly, quickly disappearing into the darkening shrubs.  
  
Naruto rolled over onto his back and rubbed his eyes as he looked up towards the dark blue sky.  
  
"NANI?? ICHARAKU MIGHT BE CLOSED BY NOW!" He yelled and jumped up, lunging for a tree, as he too scampered off, only the faint rustling of him bouncing from branch to branch could be heard.  
  
"Sakura . . . you should leave too, it's getting late. . ." Kakashi shook a still weary Sakura.  
  
He did not expect her to sit up and glare at him though, the worn-out expression on her face was replaced by one of suspicion.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei, there's something wrong, I can tell." She spoke coldly, and determined.  
  
The masked man's uncovered eye widened, but he spoke no words.  
  
"Last night, there was some kind of ritual, I saw it from my window, red flames were everywhere, even though it was raining. This morning you came early, plus you were tired, and all through the day, you haven't taken your eyes off of Sasuke and Naruto, what is going on?"  
  
The man chuckled darkly and patted her head gently. "Sakura, you really are a talented ninja, yes, something is going on . . . something that you have not come of rank yet to know."  
  
The girl's eyes narrowed more.  
  
Kakashi turned to her. "Now you'd better get going, oh, and I'm warning you, from now on, stay away from Sasuke."  
  
A puff of smoke eclipsed him and he was gone, leaving the girl standing in a lonely clearing.  
  
Sakura shook her head. "That's what you say sensei, but I'll find out, if it's about Naruto and Sasuke, then I deserve to know."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Hokage-sama . ." Kakashi bowed to the woman with sandy-hair as he appeared behind her. She stood at an alter, dropping ingredients into a chalice that smoked blue mist.  
  
She turned around and smiled at him. "You came to ask about Sakura . . ."  
  
The man ran a hand through his wild, silver hair and sighed. "Yes . . .she seems intent on finding out."  
  
"She deserves to know."  
  
"But she . . "  
  
"Cares about both Sasuke and Naruto." The woman cut him off. "Kakashi, she deserves to know."  
  
Kakashi nodded wordlessly, and then looked back towards Tsunade  
  
"I still don't believe that Naruto has anything to do with this, I know that Orachimaru wants Sasuke as a catalyst for this war, but why does Naruto have any part?" He asked with pain in his voice.  
  
"Do you believe in soul mates?"  
  
"Excuse me?" He looked up, surprised at her unexpected question.  
  
"Do you believe in soul mates?" she repeated, a small smile on her lips.  
  
"I'm not sure. . ."  
  
"You should."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
For a few moments she said nothing, but then took a breath before speaking.  
  
"Orachimaru's bite has a weakness to it, although it can never be fully removed, it can be permanently inactivated by one thing." She said softly.  
  
"Your soul-mate?"  
  
She nodded. "The Oracle has said so."  
  
"And Naruto and Sasuke are soul mates?"  
  
"The Oracle made it that way, so they must be"  
  
Kakashi nodded numbly, and bowed again to Tsunade. He slowly turned to leave, but didn't move.  
  
"Hokage-sama, what is the Oracle?"  
  
She smiled, her amber eyes softened.  
  
"The Oracle is intangible and invisible. Only the chosen ones can hear its voice, the voice that has guided our ancestors through centuries of bloodshed."  
  
"How do we know that it's right?" He asked quietly, looking down at the floor.  
  
"We don't, but we trust it with all our hearts, because it is built from the shinobi world's everlasting desire for harmony."  
  
"Do we just wait for Sasuke and Naruto to find each other than?"  
  
Tsunade let out a small laugh. "The Oracle is already working on them, it is all up to how they choose to respond, but you may guide them, just be careful."  
  
Kakashi smiled. "I will guide them."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
~*Naruto POV*~  
  
So soft, so very soft. Mm. . it feels good.  
  
Kisses, ah, sweet kisses, who are you?  
  
No words, you give me no words, just your kisses, I don't care who you are, just let me stay this way.  
  
I feel your hand on my cheek, you stroke my brow gently, then I feel your warm lips on mine, fire, I feel like I'm on fire.  
  
I want to see your face, please, let me see your face, no? you're going to stay hidden? Who are you? Where are you? Please, I want to know.  
  
You lace our fingers together gently, are you going to show me who you are?  
  
No, I don't see you, but you speak!  
  
"Naruto . . ."  
  
Say my name again, your voice is beautiful, have I heard it before?  
  
"You are my life."  
  
You love me that much eh? Who are you?  
  
"Don't ever leave me."  
  
Fool, we just met, why would I leave you? I reach out to you, I feel your hair slide through my fingers. Silky, soft . . .  
  
You embrace me again, I want to cry, I've never felt this way before.  
  
"Who are you?" I whisper.  
  
Suddenly I can see, God, you're beautiful, but wait, you are. . .  
  
I don't have time to react, something's taking over your body, orange sparks? Why are those on you?  
  
"Don't leave me . . ." you cry as you're dragged down, down, where are you going?  
  
You're gone, what is this feeling? Tears? Why am I crying? No, I didn't want to leave you! You left me!  
  
~*End POV*~  
  
The timing was too precise, two pairs of teary eyes, one sky blue, the other ebony black opened at the same time.  
  
The words they spoke were not the same however, because they only uttered the names of the other.  
  
"Sasuke?"  
  
"Naruto?"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Daijoubu ka? - Are you okay?  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Maiden: @_@  
  
NTI: @_@  
  
Maiden: Wow . . .that was pretty long . . .  
  
NTI: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR REVIEWS GOT EATEN  
  
Maiden: ;____; I know  
  
NTI: PLZ REVIEW AGAIN!  
  
Maiden: ¬.¬ NTI lives for reviews, she's what I call a "review pig"  
  
NTI: ^^;;;  
  
Maiden: anyways. . . yah, ^_^ I have a lot planned, sorry if it's confusing anyone, but it'll soon become clear. R/R!  
  
NTI: ~Onegai~ R/R!  
  
Maiden: ^_^(Y) (do leave me a review though . . .I have enhanced stats. . . I'm watching you! XD)  
  
NTI: -_____- baka. . .  
  
~Maiden (PurpleKitten125@yahoo.com) 


	3. Aquamarine Mirrors

NTI: Aren't you supposed to be doing homework?  
  
Maiden: ^_^ Yup  
  
NTI:. . . .  
  
Maiden: Anyways, I hope you all got the postcard! If you didn't, and would like to see the SasuNaru postcard I made for my one year ffn.net anniversary, e-mail me at PurpleKitten125@yahoo.com  
  
NTI: ¬.¬ She actually thinks it's cute  
  
Maiden: IT IS!!!  
  
NTI: @_@  
  
Maiden: Yah. . . y'all are great! Thanks for the reviews! Hmm.. 1358 hits, I'll just pretend those are the number of reviews I have  
  
NTI: And I was the review pig?  
  
Maiden: -___- read on, I RETYPED THIS! I left the floppy w/all my stories and the third chap of Oracle in the computer lab  
  
NTI: -__- baka. . .  
  
Maiden: This chapter's kinda dark and weird, so bare/bear with me! -__-() I can't spell  
  
Disclaimer: o_O In my dreams. . .  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Chapter Three: Aquamarine  
  
Author: MaidenInTheMoon  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Naruto shook his head quickly and lightly flopped back onto his pillow, panting heavily.  
  
"Masaka, it was only a dream, nothing real . . ." He whispered into the dark room.  
  
As much as his voice sounded convincing, he couldn't help but remember the soft touch and those beautiful, dark eyes . . .  
  
"NO WAY!"  
  
The blond boy jumped quickly and quietly out of his bed, trudging towards the kitchen, nothing like a bowl of midnight ramen to ease one's mind.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
~*Sasuke's POV*~  
  
Kami-sama, this cannot be happening. The back of my neck burns like the cursed seal just took over my body, but that's impossible! Nothing happened!  
  
I still my trembling hand as I gingerly close my palm around the seal.  
  
I'm forced to pull my hand away, and I try to ignore the orange burn that's imprinted in the pink flesh of my palm.  
  
It's real; the curse, it . . . activated on its own.  
  
Why? Why did this happen? It was only a stupid nightmare, just like any other one, Naruto . .  
  
What am I thinking? That idiot has nothing to do with this . . .  
  
His skin was so smooth against my mine . . .  
  
No!  
  
I stand up and run my hands through my hair. Suddenly, I'm suffocating, I have to get out of this house.  
  
The door seems to be getting farther and farther away, no, get a hold of yourself. The room stops spinning for a minute and I run towards the exit.  
  
I'm almost there, so close . . .  
  
I glance quickly at the mirror besides the door, something I do every time I leave, habit I guess.  
  
There's a hand in the mirror. One ghostly hand pressed up against the glass. It looks as if all it wants is another one to join with it and lead it.  
  
I feel an icy prickling creep through my entire body and it roots me to the floor. I can't move at all.  
  
//There's a hand in the mirror.// I think to myself again, letting my mind process what I have just seen.  
  
My eyes burn holes into the carpet on the ground, I dare not look up, my sanity depends on it.  
  
I can feel my breathing beginning to become ragged and the cold sweat starts to drip down my neck.  
  
It feels as if a painful eternity has passed, I can't stay this way forever, it's just something stupid, my mind playing tricks on me.  
  
The muscles in my neck hurt as I force it to look back into the dark mirror, and as my eyes become level with the haunting piece of glass, I let out a sigh of relief.  
  
Nothing  
  
There was never anything there, I was just being stupid; it's laughable really . . .  
  
It's laughable until someone starts to cry.  
  
"Sasuke, why'd you leave me?"  
  
Yes, the voice is coming from the mirror, no matter how much I try to deny it, the sobbing voice is definitely emanating from the mirror.  
  
"You promised you'd be with me forever! Death is not an excuse!"  
  
I squeeze my eyes shut and my hands that hang limply at my sides curl into fists.  
  
//Don't say anymore. . .// I think to myself, almost pleading.  
  
No more words are spoken, but I can hear the crying, and it tears at my heart as well, I suddenly feel moisture stinging at the back of my own eyes.  
  
This is unbelievable.  
  
I pull my arm back to gain momentum as I did my nails into my palm, making my knuckles turn white.  
  
I can hear the wind whistle in my ears as I run towards the mirror.  
  
The sound is indescribable; it's like a million bells have rung at the same time as my fist connects with the glossy, cold surface of the mirror.  
  
The pain shooting through my hand and up my arm is welcoming. It puts back in me the feeling that I had lost when I was numb with fear.  
  
I can see the thick, red substance drip down the mirror and down my hand even in the dark. It flows warmly and soothes my cracked knuckles.  
  
It hurts jerking my hand away from the broken mirror, and I wince as I pull a shard of glass out of my palm.  
  
At least the voice is gone, I can breathe properly again.  
  
Now for that walk . . .  
  
~*End POV*~  
  
A pair of chopsticks clattered to the ground as a certain blond boy clutched his suddenly throbbing right hand.  
  
"Itai . . ." He muttered as he sunk his nails deeper into his skin to numb the pain.  
  
After a few minutes of Naruto's solid grip, the pain slowly subsided and without a second thought, the boy casually reclaimed his chopstick and returned to his ramen, not realizing that if he had looked out his window, he would have seen a very interesting sight.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sasuke stood on the street below Naruto's small apartment and stared at the single rectangle of light that stood out among the other darkened windows.  
  
//What is that dobe doing up at this house??// He thought to him self solemnly.  
  
//Could he. . . no, I won't think about that.// Sasuke shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he returned his gaze to the kitchen window of his teammate.  
  
The raven-haired boy could make out the dim outline of his rival sitting at the table, eating the ramen like his life depended on it.  
  
//He is fine. . .// Sasuke thought, relieved that Naruto was not pained and confused like him.  
  
Naruto was happy again, his stomach was full with ramen and the dream slowly began to dim from his mind, nothing could bother him, that is if a flicker of light did not suddenly dart across his room.  
  
Trained ninja eyes followed the speeding glow through the air, where it promptly collided with the darkened window and dissappeared.  
  
The boy stood up and ran to the glass, his blue eyes scanning the outside world, to see if the strange entity had pushed its way through the glass and had flown off into the night.  
  
He saw no sign of an eerie glow, instead what he saw was much more breath- taking.  
  
Sasuke was propped up against a streetlight, the gentle glow shone softly on shiny black hair, making it a deep shade of blue.  
  
His hair was messy and it cascaded over his face, hiding his dark eyes but accenting his pale skin. He wore a dark blue tank top that did not shy away from revealing his training-toned body.  
  
He stood there simply as if he were waiting for someone, the normal feeling of confidence and good-breeding gone from his aura.  
  
The sight of the boy made Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his legs become weak, he gently lifted a hand and placed it against the window, yearning to be outside, as his body suddenly longed to be in Sasuke's embrace.  
  
The dark-haired Genin's attention, however, was no longer on the house of his teammate, he had seen a spark fly off into the night, and it had come from Naruto's window.  
  
Sasuke ran into the shrubs, ignoring his throbbing hand as he chased the strange light source, leaving Naruto staring hopelessly at the spot where his friend had stood moments ago.  
  
"Get a hold of yourself . ." Naruto said as he forced himself to pinch his arm. "It was only Sasuke." He said to no one, turning away from the window, while resisting the urge to turn back and check if his rival had returned.  
  
Not far away, Sasuke was pondering something different as he whisked silently through the trees.  
  
//That light . . .// He thought to himself as his eyes narrowed.  
  
//What could it have been?//  
  
Unbeknownst to him, what he was chasing was a part of the oracle.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Maiden: oog, that was so short T_T it's kinda confusing right now, but next chapter will reveal it all! MUAHAHAHA  
  
NTI: ::sigh:: Stupid school, STUPID STUPID SCHOOL  
  
Maiden: -___-() glad we agree on some things, anyway, on a more important note, GRAVITATION IS SOOOOOOO ADDICTING!!  
  
NTI: . . .  
  
Maiden: Did y'all know that Kakashi's seiyuu also does Yuki? Isn't that amazing? WAH! Which reminds me, I'm taking a vote on whether y'all want KakaIru in this story ^_^  
  
NTI: So vote and of course, REMEMBER TO R/R!!!  
  
Maiden: ^_^(Y) VOTE NOW!!! (hahaha, cuz your votes are reviews! Ooh, I am a sneaky devil.)  
  
~Maiden (PurpleKitten125@yahoo.com)  
  
P.S. I dunno when chap 4 will be out ;__; sooo much HW, four stupid AP classes . . . 


	4. Diamond Pains

Okay, so it's only been like . . . a year, and knowing you guys, you've probably already forgotten about this sad little ficcie of mine, bUt, I discovered a rough draft of chapter four while cleaning my room (fuck off, my room's a mess) and you know I can't resist, so read away! (the few of you who have stayed, oh wait! I don't think anyone's left )  
  
Oh! ffn.net accepts italics now!! ::sakura style hell-yeah:: so thoughts will be in italics  
  
Booyah!  
  
**::Oracle::**  
  
**Chapter Four – Diamond Pains**

**

* * *

**  
In a comfortable crouching position, Sakura stared emotionlessly at her reflection oscillating in the creek. She reached out to touch the water and quickly drew back her hand when she disrupted the fragile surface.  
  
The young girl sighed and blinked sleepily as she watched the lazy current engulf the small ripple she had created.  
  
Something's missing . . . She thought to herself as she looked at the bridge. As she expected, it was devoid of her sensei and her fellow teammates, but her curiosity was roused when her eyes fell upon a smiling Godaime. 

**

* * *

**  
  
Black bangs shadowed a sweaty forehead as Sasuke stared miserably at the base of his porcelain sink. His eyes unwillingly flickered dangerously between bloody red and empty black.  
  
_Why can't I remember anything that happened last night? Where was I?_  
  
Sasuke scowled at his reflection in the mirror. Orange flames were strewn across his face and they danced happily down his arms, like some flesh- eating slugs hungry for a meal.  
  
The dark-haired shinobi closed his eyes and bit his lower lip, not reacting when he tasted blood running through his teeth.  
  
_Concentrate . . . hold back the flames, hold it back_  
  
A wave of pain gripped Sasuke's body and his concentration was shattered as the boy fell over and collapsed into a heap on the bathroom floor, his face greeting the cold tiles with a thud.  
  
_Why? I can't hold them back. . ._ He thought bitterly as tears welled slowly at the corner of his eyes.  
  
Slipping in and out of consciousness, Sasuke swore he heard someone's voice, and the moment he felt that someone's touch, the pain subsided. 

**

* * *

**  
  
"Ohayo Sakura." Tsunade called as she waved happily at the pink-haired shinobi staring at her in disbelief  
  
"O-Ohayo, Hokage-sama." Sakura called in response as she waved back with noticeably lesser fervor.  
  
"Come up here Sakura! I need to talk to you." The older woman yelled, letting her arms come to rest on the wooden railing of the tiny bridge.  
  
"H-Hai!" came a squeaky response as a pink and red blur rushed to the woman's side.  
  
"Oi, Sakura, I was wondering if Kakashi had spoken with you recently . . . about some things . . ." The sandy-haired woman began and she turned to look at Sakura as her disposition became more serious.  
  
Sakura felt the air around the bridge tense and she looked nervously at her feet, her pink bangs followed her cue and flopped over her eyes, eagerly covering any signs of wayward emotions.  
  
"What do you mean Hokage-sama." Came her reply, quiet and bitter.  
  
"Has Kakashi warned you to stay away from those two, more notably Sasuke?"  
  
Sakura turned completely away from the woman whose eyes were drilling holes in her and the young ninja remained silent, her mind swimming in pain and confusion.  
  
"Yes, sensei has told me to stay away from Sasuke, but he didn't tell me why and I want to know." Sakura managed to blurt out as she turned wildly towards Tsunade, her eyes filled with tears and determination.  
  
The Godaime was taken-aback and her eyes widened momentarily as she stared at the angry young ninja.  
  
Slowly, her lips curved into a small smile.  
  
"If you'll join me for tea this afternoon, I'll tell you why" 

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but closed it when she realized there was nobody on the bridge left to talk to.

**

* * *

**  
**::Naruto POV::**  
  
_How in the world do I get myself into these situations?  
  
All I did was come to ask Sasuke why the hell he was outside my house yesterday in the middle of the night acting like everything was hunky-dory  
  
And I happen to find him all passed out on his bathroom floor with these weird orange things going off like fireworks on his body.  
  
It was just a little unnerving that they looked exactly like those things that ate him up in my dream last night  
  
Those are stupid dreams of course  
  
Not being one to ignore someone who looks like he's on the verge of death, I ran over and picked him up, too bad he was completely out of it.  
  
I grabbed some random towels and ran them under cool water and put them on his forehead.  
  
Now here's the funny thing, when I went to touch the flames that were licking up the side of his face, they receded!  
  
So here I am cradling Sasuke's head in my arms and I'm playing tag with demonic looking markings on his face.  
  
Life is a peach  
_  
**::End Naruto POV::**  
  
"N-Naruto?" Sasuke asked in disbelief as he strained to open his eyes, focusing them on the blond-haired boy staring at him with curious blue eyes.  
  
"Oi! You woke up." Naruto responded cheerfully giving Sasuke a wide grin to cover up the confusion and worry he was feeling.  
  
Sasuke blinked, his eyes remaining the same shade of black.  
  
"What are you doing in my house dobe?"  
  
Naruto stood up quickly, his head throbbing in annoyance and his eyes closed in order to hold back his anger.  
  
Unfortunately, the fox-boy was never good at doing that.  
  
"TOO BAD I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION FOR YOU! WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUTSIDE MY HOUSE LAST NIGHT!" Naruto yelled triumphantly as he pointed an accusing finger at the other boy, ignoring Sasuke's scowl at his volume level.  
  
The two were silent for a few moments.  
  
"I-I was outside your house last night?" Sasuke finally asked, his brows knitted together in sheer confusion.  
  
Naruto scratched his head and stared wide-eyed at his teammate.  
  
"You . . . don't remember?"  
  
Sasuke shook his head in response and looked away from Naruto.  
  
"I remember having this dream, and this morning, when I woke up, I . . . I was in the brush outside my house."  
  
"Well that makes sense! You were just hanging out near my house and then this. . . this flash of light came out of nowhere and then you chased after it and . . "Naruto stopped to take a breath, realizing his arms were extended in midair as he had unconsciously been dramatizing the situation.  
  
Sasuke turned away from Naruto and covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes narrowed as they looked intently at the floor.  
  
"Well that explains where I was last night . . ."  
  
Naruto continued to stare at his distraught teammate and he tilted his head in questioning as he continued on to ask Sasuke about the mentioned dream.  
  
"So . . . you said you had a dream . . ."  
  
Dark eyes widened but did not move as a wave of unreadable thoughts ran through Sasuke's head.  
  
_"You are my life."  
  
You love me that much? Who are you?  
  
"Don't ever leave me."_  
  
"I don't think that's important" Sasuke responded coldly, still refusing to level his eyes with Naruto's  
  
"It must've been pretty important if it made you stumble out all the way to my house, or maybe you were just taking one of your 'walks'." Naruto continued to speak as he sighed and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"Well, why were you up at such an ungodly hour anyway? I have the right to walk around if I want to!"  
  
Sasuke looked up as he was not met with an immediate response from Naruto.  
  
"I-I've been having trouble sleeping lately . . . but I don't think anything's wrong with that." Naruto finally answered, his eyes still glued to the ceiling.  
  
A moment of silence fell between the two boys.  
  
"So . . . I guess I'll be leaving now . . ." Naruto managed to cut in as he slowly slid towards the door, not giving Sasuke time to react.  
  
The blonde's hand was on the doorknob when he heard Sasuke's scream.  
  
Running back to where he had left Sasuke, Naruto found him on his knees with his burning orange hands covering his face.  
  
"Sasuke! Are you all right? What are those?" Naruto yelled as he ran to his teammate's side, gently lifting one of Sasuke's hands to reveal black marks quickly vanishing from his face.  
  
"The seal . . . it won't stop . . ." Sasuke breathed as he closed his eyes in pain, unknowingly gripping Naruto's arm.  
  
A light blush tinged Naruto's cheeks as the boy battled to will them away.  
  
"Stay Naruto, it hurts less when you're here." Sasuke muttered unconciously, not opening his eyes to absorb Naruto's response.  
  
Returning Sasuke's request with a light nod, Naruto gently lay him on the floor and ran to retrieve more towels.  
  
_This is so not right, I've got to talk to Obasan and Kakashi-sensei soon_

**_

* * *

_**  
  
"So the oracle has started." Tsunade spoke as she carefully set tea cups down on the old wooden table in her office.  
  
"It has?" came the reply from a silver-haired jounin resting comfortably on a couch now too far away.  
  
"I can feel it"  
  
A soft knock resounded in the small room and both occupants immediately turned their attention towards the pink-haired girl peaking shyly through the door that remained slightly ajar.  
  
"Come in, Sakura."

* * *

Mmk . . . I thought that would be a great place to stop, since this is already six pages and my ranting at the beginning of the story didn't take up too much space this time.

Yes, if you haven't noticed, I've been putting off the Tsunade tell Sakura scene for like, a bazillion chapters, procrastination no jutsu!  
  
Wow! So my tri-phobia has officially ended! I must give most of my thanks to Japime-sama, who in my despair gave me a very nice piece of advice.  
  
"Maybe you should consider finishing your stories for once"  
  
So nice of her to put it sO bluntly   
  
I'm posting this un-betad most likely because I hafta run and go catch a plane.  
  
(insert a face here that ffn.net doesn't let me use due to the fact that we can't use under-hyphen things)  
  
I thought I'd give you all this gift to munch on for the three weeks that I will be in San Francisco.  
  
Knock yourselves out!  
  
Luvvies  
  
Maiden

P.S. go look at my dev site if you have nothing else to do (actually, I'm trying out the insert-link in the quick-previews page, tehe)

http:maidenchan.deviantart.com/


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